Fauci contradicts Trump's death toll prediction as Rand Paul slams top White House doctor

Trump adviser says working in the West Wing 'scary' during coronavirus

The US government’s leading infectious disease expert told a Senate committee on Tuesday that if states open too quickly, they could be dealing with new Covid-19 outbreaks "that you cannot control."

"There is no doubt when you pull back on mitigation, you will see cases appear," Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pension Committee.

"It's not only doing it at the appropriate time, with the appropriate restraints, but ... responding when the infection recurs," he added.

That puts him at odds with President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged governors to lift orders keeping most business closed and their residents at home. The doctor also broke with Mr Trump by saying the US death toll likely is higher than current estimates.

The hearing, so far, has focused largely on testing and whether governors should open their states. But sparks flew when Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, bluntly told Dr Fauci he is not the "end all" on coronavirus or any public health matter.

One takeaway of the session was members of both parties want more testing kits available to more Americans, and more types of tests.

Democratic senators appeared to walk a tightrope on reopening, opting against slamming GOP governors while raising their concerns. And Republican senators held fire on China, even as Mr Trump and his top aides continue to blame the government in Beijing for withholding information about the disease going public on its soil.

But Dr Fauci and other health officials were optimistic about a Covid-19 vaccine, saying one could be in place later this year.

And he even suggested schools and colleges might be able to reopen in August and September.

Key Points

• Watch Dr Fauci and other White House coronavirus task force members testify live here
• Chairman of the Senate panel, retiring Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander, opened the session by calling for "new tests"
• Dr Fauci offered only a mild warning about states opening too soon 
• But he said a vaccine could be ready later this year
• Number of US deaths likely higher than estimates

[12 May 2020 16:22 · John T Bennett]

Down the street, White House begins testing reporters

Meantime, at the White House: Members of the press who are still allowed inside the complex after the White House Correspondents Association moved to limit access for many reporters to prevent the pandemic entering the West Wing's press area will now be tested each day.

"Out of an abundance of caution and to further protect your health and safety as well as the entire complex, members of the restricted in-house pool should be ready in the briefing room at call time for a COVID-19 test to be administered in Lower Press by the White House Medical Unit. Moving forward, we expect to test members of the restricted in-house pool daily," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.

That comes one day after Mr Trump was unable to say when all Americans would have the same access to testing that people at the White House now have. That now includes journalists there. The White House will argue this is to keep the president and reporters safe. But it also could cause some to feel reluctant asking about testing beyond the Washington Beltway.

[12 May 2020 16:34 · John T Bennett]

Number of US deaths from coronavirus 'likely higher,' says Dr Fauci

More news from Dr Fauci: Under questioning, the country's top infectious disease official says "the number [of Covid-19 deaths] is likely higher" than current estimates. The Johns Hopkins University has been closely tracking and examining Covid-19 cases, and puts the number of deaths in the US at just under 81,000. Our Chris Riotta has more.

[12 May 2020 16:52 · John T Bennett]

Senator Collins highlights pandemic's still-unknown consequences, including 'root canals'

The many ripple waves from the coronavirus outbreak will go far, but just how far is still anyone's guess. But Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, came to the hearing with a warning from her state's dentists. They are concerned that teeth that could have been repaired with fillings will require root canals once dentists are able to open their practices.

Quarantine can feel like a trip to the dentist. Deciphering just what officials at every level of government mean when they speak about the pandemic can feel like dental surgery.

Many Americans could be on the road to the real thing.

[12 May 2020 17:14 · John T Bennett]

​Fireworks erupt as Rand Paul tells Dr Fauci he is not 'then end all'

Senator Rand Paul, the chamber's resident wet blanket and constant contrarian, came ready for a fight. He is firmly in the Covid-19 skeptics camp, going so far on Tuesday to say the outbreak has been "fairly benign" outside of "New England." For that to be true, the libertarian senator must be including the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, which Johns Hopkins calculates has had at least 342,000 cases of the 1.3m total cases in the United States.

Mr Paul wants to open up most states. He wants to get people back to work. Despite himself testing positive, meaning he is likely now immune from Covid-19, he doubts the disease is that serious. And he has doubts about Dr Fauci, as well.

You can watch the full exchange below. Here is a summary of the hearing's (so far) most tense exchange:

Senator Paul: "I don't think you're the end all. I don't think you're the one person that gets to make a decision."

Dr Fauci, after asking Chairman Alexander's permission to fire back: "I have never made myself out to be the end all and only voice in this. I'm a scientist, a physician and a public health official."

[12 May 2020 17:53 · John T Bennett]

As senators lay off China questions, a top Trump aide fires new broadside at Beijing

One issue that has not been a focus of the hearing: China.

Notably, Republican senators have not come armed with talking points from the White House blaming China for the pandemic. Mr Trump sparked outrage on Monday – as another coronavirus press conference backfired on him – when he advised an Asian-American reporter to "ask China" why he often talks about the virus response as a global competition.

But as the hearing plodded on, Mr Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, fired the White House's latest broadside against the government in Beijing.

"I think we know it came from Wuhan [province], and I think there's circumstantial evidence that it could have come from the lab or the wet market," he told reporters. "But again, if you're China, neither one's a good answer. We've had five plagues from China – in the last 20 years."

[12 May 2020 18:26 · John T Bennett]

Romney blasts Trump, administration over misleading statements about testing

Mitt Romney was the only GOP senator to vote to remove Donald Trump from office. He is, politically, a free man.

"I understand the politicians are going to frame data in a way that's most positive politically. Of course, I don't expect that from admirals," the Utah Republican said as the hearing started to wind down.

"But yesterday, you celebrated that we had done more tests and more tests per capita even in South Korea," he told Admiral Brett Giroir, a top Department of Health and Human Services official, referring to comments he made on Monday. "I find our testing record nothing to celebrate whatsoever."

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